Disgruntled about your student loans? Tell it to the man.
The man, in this case, is Human Resources and Social Development Minister Monte Solberg, who has invited students, parents, and general citizenry to air their views in online consultations from Sept. 7 to Sept. 28. The forum is part of a review of the Canada Student Loans Program announced in the government’s 2007 budget.
HRSDC’s annual surveys say that student borrowers’ satisfaction levels have ranged between 63 and 75 per cent since 2002. Detractors of CSLP, however, are vocal about the program’s shortcomings.
Common complaints include high interest rates (2.5 per cent above prime for variable rates or a whopping 5 per cent above prime for a fixed rate) and harassment from collection agencies ($450 million, or around 56 per cent, of defaulted loans are handled by private agencies and the rest are collected by the Canadian Revenue Agency).
U of T alum Leena Sharma said that, of all her debts, she’s repaying her OSAP loans last because they have the lowest interest rate. “I’m glad I had the help at the time, but I’d stress more grants and scholarships,” she said. “Students should leave school with less debt.”
How long till Sharma finishes repaying her loans? “Maybe a few years,” she conceeded. Christina, her co-worker, had a drearier outlook: “Forever, until I die. At my funeral, they’ll be the ones robbing my grave.” Christina declined to give her last name, under fear of “blacklisting” by U of T.
Third-year student Daniel Kim, meanwhile, has no idea how he’ll repay his OSAP loans. “I’m not even thinking about it,” he said. “It’s good that they don’t have interest until we graduate, at least. It’s ok, it’s better than nothing.”
Registered Education Savings Plans are also due for an overhaul; the budget will increase the lifetime limit from $42,000 to $50,000 and eliminate the annual limit.
